Memento
by Sakura's Unicorn
Summary: Sasuke never dreamed that Naruto's 'Best Ninja Challenge' would land him in Sakura's bedroom...with her underwear in his hand.  Pre-Shippuden Team Seven. SasuSaku. One-Shot.


Naruto rolled on the ground, clutching his sides as Sasuke desperately tried to catch his breath.

"Ah-ha-ha! You totally suck!"

Anger building, he felt the need to punch something..._now_. "Shut up, moron."

"Admit it, Sasuke. I'm just a better ninja than you are."

He chuffed in disgust and turned his head away. _I'm just having an off day. That's all. There's no way Naruto is this good._ During the course of the day, Naruto had chakra-climbed higher, thrown a kunai farther, hit more shuriken targets, and run faster than Sasuke—he'd even managed to catch Kakashi off guard. _So, the moron is having a good day. That doesn't make him better._

"Tell you what. How's about we make a little wager? Winner gets to claim _Best Ninja_ title. Loser has to wear a sign with the winner's picture on it—and not gripe about anything—for a whole week."

Sasuke was intrigued. _To shut that idiot's mouth for a week might make this worth it._ "What's the wager?"

"Oh, no big deal. Just a little test of stealth. _Real_ ninja are masters of stealth."

"What's your point?"

"Well, you think of something for me to bring back here—some proof that I've accomplished something stealthy—and I'll do the same for you. First one back, wins. Simple, right?"

He saw the grin on Naruto's face and knew he had some trick up his sleeve, but Sasuke also knew he could outdo him in stealth any day. After all, he practiced daily just by walking out of his house—avoiding crowds of girls was a full-time job. He'd crush Naruto and shut him up for a while. The peace and quiet would make any task his teammate could assign well worth it.

"Fine."

Sasuke wanted to make Naruto do something that would get him into as much trouble as possible. "You have to sneak into Kakashi's apartment and take his _Icha Icha_." He smirked, knowing he'd never be able to do it. _That pervert probably has a million traps set up around those stupid books of his. Naruto is definitely going to get caught._

"Okay. Now, your task," Naruto said as a demonic smile curled his lips. "You have to sneak into Sakura-chan's bedroom and take…_hee, hee_…a pair of her underwear!" He exploded into a fit of laughter.

"Don't be stupid," said Sasuke, turning his head to hide the red on his cheeks. "I'm not doing that."

"Oh, then you forfeit? I guess that makes me the best ninja. I'll get your sign ready."

"I didn't say that I forfeited!" Sasuke held out a hand to stop him. "But I'm not doing…_that_." He pulled on his collar as the evening suddenly became uncomfortably warm.

"You don't do the challenge, you lose."

Sasuke swallowed hard. Sneaking past Sakura should be reasonably easy, but to run his hands through a drawer full of her _underwear_? The idea of holding her panties, tucking them into his pocket, owning something so intimately hers made his head spin, but the alternative was equally unthinkable. In the end, he reasoned that he should have faith in his superior skills. _It's just a piece of cloth, right? I'll pretend it's a sock or something. Okay. I can do this._

"Whatever. Don't come crying to me when you've got to shut up for a whole week."

Naruto rubbed his hands together gleefully. "Okay! The Best Ninja Challenge starts…_now_!"

Both genin disappeared like shooting stars in the inky night sky.

* * *

><p>Crouching on the rooftop across from Sakura's house, Sasuke silently observed.<p>

_The light's out in Sakura's room, but…is she in bed? I need to get a closer look_. Just as he was about to dash across the tiled roof, a light snapped on and the shoji slid open. He sprawled out flat, hoping he hadn't been seen. Lifting his head the slightest bit to check, he almost choked at what he saw.

Sakura, her cotton nightgown glowing pale blue in the moonlight, leaned against the railing, her chin cupped in one hand. She gazed at the Konoha skyline, sighing dreamily at the winking lights.

Sasuke found himself unable to look away. He'd never seen her so placid. She was usually an irritating ball of nervous energy around him.

Her hand lifted languidly to cover a yawn then she turned back to her room. As she walked, the light from inside shone through her nightgown, silhouetting the dip and flare of her waist and hips.

A bead of sweat rolled down Sasuke's temple. _How am I ever going to do this now?_ _With her sleeping right there, in only that…that…_ He banged his forehead on the tile roof and cursed himself for ever agreeing to Naruto's plan.

A vision of his stupid teammate's gloating face got him into an alert crouch. He would _not_ lose.

Sasuke drew chakra to his feet and shot up the side of a pole, tiptoed like a cat across a wire, and dropped like a feather onto Sakura's balcony. Pressing himself up against her shoji, he listened for the even breathing that would indicate her deep slumber.

First, he had to stop his own rapid breathing to hear anything. _What the hell? Why am I nervous? _He tried to relax, but couldn't stop panting like he'd just run for miles. _Heart beating too fast. Gotta calm down. I can do this._ Finally, in frustration, he inhaled deeply, holding it in, cheeks puffed like a chipmunk. His vision began to tunnel before he heard the rhythmic in and out of Sakura's breathing

Soundlessly, he slid her screen open just enough to allow him to slip his slim body through. He stood at the door, unmoving, until his eyes adjusted to the darkness.

He was in _Sakura's room_.

Inhaling and the soft, powdery scent that was Sakura sent his heart racing again. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out memories of breathing in this same scent as he wrapped his arms around her and carried her to safety, burying his nose in hair.

_Remember why you're here!_ he ordered, eyes opening wide. _You need to focus!_

He scanned the room. A high dresser stood to his left, a desk on his right, and Sakura's bed in the middle. And Sakura…in her bed.

As much as he argued with himself not to, he couldn't resist walking straight up to her bed. _Just one look and I'll get to work. She'll never even know I've been here._

Silent as the dark, Sasuke crept toward her, mindful of creaking boards and stray items on the floor. As he came closer, his shadow blotted out the moonlight. Her face now in darkness, Sakura murmured and shifted. He panicked and hit the floor, planning the fastest escape route. When she didn't wake up, he was filled with a reckless daring. _I _am_ the best ninja. I'll never get caught. _He crawled along the side of the bed and hovered right over Sakura's sleeping face.

Her gentle breath fanned his face, making his lips tingle. He leaned closer, his nose less than an inch from her neck, and inhaled. He squeezed his lips together to contain a hum of pleasure. _Why does she always smell so good?_

"Sas'kun?"

His body froze to the spot like ice. His brain whirred with excuses for why he would be in her room while she was sleeping, but none of them seemed even remotely plausible.

"You wanna train wi' me t'day?" she mumbled, shifting to her stomach.

Sasuke let out a relieved breath as he sank to the floor. _Why am I taking stupid chances like this? _He turned to the only dresser in Sakura's room, knowing that his target was in one of those drawers, he just needed to find out which one.

Gripping the knobs of the top drawer, Sasuke carefully slid it open two inches. He snaked his hand inside and dug around. Every piece of clothing he touched was larger than he anticipated girls' underwear would be. When he felt the metal teeth of a zipper, he knew he'd found Sakura's dresses, so he moved to the next drawer.

The second drawer contained a variety of sensations. Some were silky, some gauzy, some smooth and cottony, but all were too large and he figured correctly that these were Sakura's pajamas. He burned when he remembered the dip of her waist through her nightgown and he pulled his hand out of the drawer as if it were on fire.

Hoping for better luck, he pulled open the third drawer which made a loud, scraping sound. Sasuke panicked, his head whipping toward Sakura's bed. When she mumbled and sighed sleepily, he released his held breath and continued to search.

Dipping his hand into this drawer, he felt a curve of silk. Assuming this was his target, he pulled it out and was surprised when more fabric pulled out with it. He held the item up in the darkness and soon made out the straps and rounded cups of a bra. He was about to drop it back in when a thought occurred to Sasuke. _Sakura…wears…this._ He was paralyzed for a long moment, just his fingertips skimming the inside of the curved cups. _How did I not notice that she—_ He shook his head vigorously. _Stay focused!_ He shoved the bra back in the drawer and felt around again.

He wrapped his fingers around something softer. _Cottony. With lace. Jackpot!_ Sasuke was withdrawing his prize when a hand clamped around his wrist.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura's eyes were questioning, her head tilted in confusion.

His mind screeched to a halt. _W-when did she wake up?_ She lifted his hand from the drawer, her panties still clutched in his sweaty grip.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

In his head, Sasuke rambled through an explanation of his and Naruto's wager, the Best Ninja Challenge, and how he really wanted to shut that moron up for a while, but what came out was…

"I need these."

Sakura looked from her dainty, white panties to him and back again before she smiled shyly, cheeks blushing brightly in the dark. "Okay," she said, closing her hand around his and pressing the underwear to his chest.

Her fingers around his hand burned. _I have to get out of here!_ he thought, but he couldn't look away from her shining eyes. _I have to get back to the training ground first!_

A mad impulse seized Sasuke and, despite the protests of his mind, his body leaned forward. With his face pressed into Sakura's hair, he inhaled deeply. Dizzy and intoxicated, he thought, _She smells like soap…and summer sun…and the forest after it rains._

As he pulled back, he saw a similar look on Sakura's face—dazed and unsteady—and he realized she'd inhaled him, too.

His muscles remembered what his mind could not as he leaped from her balcony. Skating through the empty streets of Konoha, Sasuke's mind reeled, the Best Ninja Challenge long-forgotten.

* * *

><p>One of the one-shots I submitted for SasuSaku Month—this one was for the theme 'Chance Meetings' and the prompt 'Snoop.' If you haven't checked out SSM yet...what are you waiting for? It's over now, but all the fics and art and whatnot are there for you to fall in love with!<p>

Anyhoo, this was edited by the always-amazing Unicorn Paige. It was written well past midnight during that 24-hour Writing Marathon. Paige, I still feel slightly queasy from cashews when I read it.

Thank you so much for reading! Hope you enjoyed!


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